COVID Restrictions: San Mateo County Maintains Purple Tier Guidance, Skirts Stay-At-Home Order
REDWOOD CITY (CBS SF) -- While much of the Bay Area on Friday decided to adopt the state's regional stay-at-home order restrictions early, San Mateo County officials announced that would instead continue to follow California's purple tier guidelines until further notice.
"The County of San Mateo remains focused on following the state's existing metrics and process, while reinforcing the public's responsibility to comply with existing safety measures -- especially avoiding gatherings -- to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the holiday season," the statement released by the county read.
So far, health officials with Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties have not made announcements in regards to regional stay-at-home order beyond that the state's plan is being reviewed.
The action is not the first time that the Peninsula county has bucked trends being followed by other Bay Area health officials. In mid-November, San Mateo County remained one of the few places in the Bay Area to allow for indoor dining as it returned to the red tier and COVID cases started to rise.
San Francisco had shut down indoor dining a week earlier, while six other Bay Area counties in the purple tier had already adopted the state's most restrictive guidance which did not allow for indoor dining.
"While the County understands and appreciates the measures taken by the other Bay Area counties, San Mateo will not at this time be issuing a new local stay-at-home order and will continue to work with business and community leaders on adherence to existing guidelines," the statement read.
Officials noted in the press release that the county would continue to work with the other Bay Area counties on coordinating and facilitating the availability of hospital beds as needed.
"The measures we are taking emphasize individual and collective responsibility," said San Mateo County's Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow. "With the vaccine coming soon, now more than ever, this is a critical time to stay focused on the key behaviors that protect our communities."
Dr. Morrow will continue to closely scrutinize County and regional hospitalization data, including the number of available and staffed intensive care unit beds, to determine whether additional local measures should be mobilized as officials try fight the rise of COVID19 cases in San Mateo County.
San Mateo County's health officer recently appealed to residents to stay vigilant and called out careless behavior as COVID-19 cases surge ahead of Thanksgiving.
Morrow told residents in a statement posted last week, "Right now, enough people are acting like they are individuals, carelessly, thoughtlessly, and I would add quite selfishly, whether by intent or not, resulting in a surge in new cases."
